Great books
Subtitle: my adventures with Homer, Rousseau, Woolf, and other indestructible writers of the Western world
By: David Denby.
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: 1996
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 492
Subjects: Denby, David -- Books and reading; Civilization, Western -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- United States; Humanities -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- United States; Literature -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- United States
Description: In Great Books, Denby lives the common adult fantasy of returning to school with some worldly knowledge and experience of life. A gifted story-teller, he leads us on a glorious tour - by turns eloquent, witty, and moving - through the works themselves and through his experiences as a middle-aged man among freshmen. He recounts his failures and triumphs as a reader and student (taking an exam led to a hilarious near-breakdown).

He celebrates his rediscovery or new appreciation of such authors as Homer, Plato, the biblical writers, Augustine, Boccaccio, Hegel, Austen, Marx, Nietzsche, and Virginia Woolf. He re-creates the atmosphere of the classroom - the strategies used by a remarkable group of teachers and the strengths and weaknesses of media-age students as they grapple with these difficult, sometimes frightening works. And all year long he watches the students grow and his own life and memories break out of hiding.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 465-470) and index.